Dulwich Festival Flash Fiction Competition 2024: Rules

Please ensure you read the rules carefully before entering the competition. Entry implies acceptance of all the rules and failure to comply may result in disqualification.

General

Entries submitted can be on any subject and written in any style or form.
The competition is open only to UK residents only.
Entrants may enter up to 3 stories.
Entrants may withdraw entries from the competition.
Entries may be disqualified if they identify the Author, are over the word limit, have been published or awarded a prize previously or are deemed to breach UK law.
The deadline date for entries is 23:59 (UK) on 26th April 2024.

This document covers the following areas:

Format
Eligibility
Receipt of entry
Judging
Copyright
Prizes
Results

Format

Written in English, translation into English of your own work is accepted.
No minimum, maximum 400 words.
Title is not included in the word count. The title should be the first line of the document.
Dedication is not included in the word count.
Any dedication should be included on a separate line following the title in the format: Dedicated to . The dedication should not name a person in a way that could identify the entrant (e.g. Dedicated to my wife Claire Windsor).
Add the word count to bottom of the document (e.g. Word Count = 385). The title and any dedication are not included in the word count.
Use any plain font, 14pt, black. (please avoid highly graphic fonts).
If your entry runs to two pages, number both pages centre bottom.
Save the file as a Microsoft Word document – .doc or .docx. We also accept file types .pdf, .txt. Maximum allowed file size is 2Mb.
The file name should be the title of the story only, typed exactly the same as on the document, for example: The Cat in The Hat. Do not put other descriptors such as Dulwich Festival flash fiction entry in the file title.
For untitled pieces, save the document with the file name as the first 7 words of the entry (excluding the dedication).

Eligibility

The competition is open to all UK residents, there is no age restriction.
Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant. By submitting an entry you are confirming that the work is your own. Any evidence to the contrary will result in immediate disqualification.
All entries are judged anonymously. Please do not include your name, address, phone number, email, website, social media handles or similar persona; details that could identify the Author. Any dedication included should not contain details that could effectively identify the Author (eg my brother Abel Wright).
Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize. Published online also includes publication on your personal blog or online forum, nor have received a winning place in any other competition.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted however will become ineligible should they win a prize elsewhere or be published prior to the prize giving date. You must inform Dulwich Festival immediately should your entry be published or win a prize elsewhere.
Entries submitted posthumously will not be eligible. In the event of the entrant dying after the closing date of the competition their entry will be judged and any prize will be given to the entrants’ estate. Executors may request the withdrawal of an entry.

Receipt of entry

Entries are to be submitted online here
Entry is comprised of a work of Flash Fiction and separately each writer can submit a short description of themselves (max 100 words ideally written in the 3rd person).
Entries will be confirmed by email. (Please check your spam folder as emails sometimes go there by mistake).
It is not possible to confirm receipt of entries by phone or mail.